City & Business: Not so co-operative

As phoney wars go, the one being waged between Andrew Regan, of Lanica Trust fame, and the Co-operative Wholesale Society takes some beating. A bid for the CWS had apparently been lined up for Friday but was stymied by injunctions brought against Mr Regan and others. Now we must wait until next week to see if those injunctions are lifted.

But don't hold your breath. A hostile bid has no chance of success without board endorsement because of the CWS's curious structure.

A more realistic outcome is that the CWS will embark on a programme of its own. We may yet see a more modest break-up of the CWS with Mr Regan taking a less prominent role. But perhaps that is what he has had in mind all along.